(1987) Unearthed Robocop Classic Rock Anthem | Dead or Alive (You’re Rocking With Me)

Описание: Unearthed from a discarded late-1980s soundtrack session. Full story below ⬇️

By late 1987, RoboCop’s post-production had dragged on and studio nerves were tightening. What should have been routine suddenly wasn’t. The question of how the film would exit the theater became unexpectedly contentious.

Executives wanted something forceful but compliant.
A rock song that felt modern without challenging the image on screen.

That responsibility fell to Harold V. Keaglebaum, Senior Vice President of Music Integration and Brand Partnerships.

Keaglebaum’s solution was simple: hire a band big enough to sound dangerous, then keep them on a leash.

So he called The Pit Crew.

The Pit Crew were already a known quantity. A classic rock juggernaut with a reputation for volume, precision, and an allergy to restraint. They sold records. They filled arenas. They were not known for following notes.

Keaglebaum pitched the job as ceremonial. End credits only. No interference with the film. A victory lap on the way out of the theater. He underlined the phrase “background energy” twice.

The band agreed.

The session began professionally and ended mythologically.

The Pit Crew ignored the temp track. They ignored the timing notes. They wrote directly from the dialogue sheet instead. “Dead or alive” wasn’t a lyric suggestion. It was a mandate. The riff was confrontational. The chorus didn’t resolve. It demanded response.

When Keaglebaum tried to rein it in, he was assured the track needed to be felt in motion.

With only one session recorded, he left the studio with the band to “talk through dynamics.”

They did not return.

Three days later, Keaglebaum was found outside Twin Falls, Idaho—alive, unharmed, and entirely unclothed. When questioned, he could not remember anything past getting onto The Pit Crew’s tour bus after they demanded the driver take them to Carney’s Hot Dogs.

The Pit Crew claim they never met Keaglebaum.

The one recording tape was missing.

By the time Keaglebaum resurfaced, the studio had already pivoted. The end credits were replaced. Internally, the incident was classified as “The Keaglebaum Event.”

The song became a rumor. A track that made RoboCop feel less like a product and more like a god. A rock anthem that didn’t accompany the character so much as claim him.

The Pit Crew went back on tour.

And the tape stayed lost.

Until now.

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